Center for Professional Learning

The Penn GSE Center for Professional Learning designs and delivers professional learning opportunities that support educators, leaders, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals to deepen their knowledge, build their networks, and grow their careers. The Center for Professional Learning offers Virtual Institutes, Certificate Programs, and a variety of webinars and workshops throughout the year.

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Certificate Programs
Custom Programs
Our Faculty
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Certificate Programs

Penn GSE certificate programs are our most advanced and rigorous professional learning programs. Certificate programs extend over the course of several months and offer you a rich, in-depth professional learning experience. If you are a professional who is looking to engage in advanced professional development in a particular area of interest, a certificate program may be the right fit for you.

Collegiate Athletics for Senior Leaders

The Collegiate Athletics for Senior Leaders certificate program empowers you to learn what questions to ask (and what answers you need to know) to support a healthy, sustainable, and mission-aligned athletics department. This program is ideal for presidential cabinet members, new presidents, senior leaders, and those who aspire to move into those roles. This institute can strengthen your candidacy with this unique, first of its kind educational certificate.

Fostering Conversations in Polarized Times

Fostering Conversations in Polarized Times is designed for K-16 educators, administrators, and leaders from all disciplinary backgrounds looking to deepen their understanding of issues surrounding civic discourse in educational settings. During this one-day program, learn from experts around the importance of supporting difficult conversations in polarized times and ways to address the challenges this presents. Along the way, work closely with small groups of peers to examine shared challenges from your professional work and connect with and learn from a professional network that shares your commitment to this important and complex work.

Global Education Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Global Education Entrepreneurship and Innovation certificate program is the world’s first online program designed for education industry leaders, school leadership teams, entrepreneurs in education, researchers and investors, or anyone interested in addressing critical issues in education through innovation. This program can be offered as a custom certificate to meet the needs of your organization, or you can enroll in one of our open-enrollment cohorts.

Health Professions Education

The Health Professions Education certificate program is an accelerated, interprofessional program designed for current and aspiring clinical faculty in our global community who are involved in training tomorrow's healthcare professionals. The program prepares you to design, deliver, and evaluate sophisticated education programs throughout various healthcare disciplines.

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Instructional Coaching

The Instructional Coaching certificate program is designed for teacher mentors, coaches, and instructional leaders looking to develop the skills and tools necessary to create deliberate, collaborative, and flexible instructional coaching experiences for new and experienced colleagues.

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International College Advising

The International College Advising certificate program allows you to develop your capacity as an international college counselor to better advise your students who are seeking higher education experiences outside their home countries. Developed by faculty at Penn GSE, this program is the only comprehensive college advising program designed for international college counselors.

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Leadership for Employee Engagement

The Penn GSE certificate in Leadership for Employee Engagement is an asynchronous interprofessional program that will provide you with strategic tools and frameworks to identify problems and leverage opportunities to strengthen your team and your organization.

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Project-Based Learning

The Project-Based Learning certificate program is designed for current educators who strive to create rich, meaningful, and rigorous learning experiences through student-centered approaches to teaching and learning. Developed in collaboration with the Science Leadership Academy, the Workshop School, Inquiry Schools, and EL Education, the program leverages the educational expertise of Penn GSE’s faculty and some of the most skilled and experienced student-centered learning practitioners from across the country.

Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice

The Project-Based Learning for Global Climate Justice program equips educators with the knowledge and skills they need to design projects that engage students in this important environmental justice work. Learn about PBL for Global Climate Justice and how to engage your students in authentic, action-oriented, and meaningful learning experiences. The time to take action on global climate change is now.

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Race, Diversity, and Equity in Higher Education

The Race, Diversity, and Equity in Higher Education certificate program is designed for higher education professionals looking to deepen their understanding and develop their leadership on historical and contemporary topics related to inclusion, justice, power, and privilege in higher education settings.

Social-Emotional Teaching and Learning

The Social Emotional Teaching and Learning Certificate program teaches you methods to support healthy and equity-oriented social and emotional learning in your classrooms, schools, and organizations.

Strategic Leadership in Education

The Strategic Leadership in Education certificate program provides a sustained, rigorous, and cohort-based leadership development experience that empowers you to embrace your leadership role with purpose, confidence, and skill.

TESOL Essential Series

The TESOL Essential Series Certificate program is focused on the theory and practice of language education. Participants have the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their competencies as language educators.

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Custom Programs

Penn GSE works with organizations, networks, and systems to design and deliver custom professional learning solutions that draw on the unique resources, research, and faculty of the Penn Community. Contact ProfessionalLearning@gse.upenn.edu to learn more about our custom programs.

Interested in taking one or two courses at Penn GSE? Apply for General Admission and Non-Degree Studies.

Our Faculty

The Penn GSE Center for Professional Learning engages with teaching faculty from Penn GSE, Penn, and beyond. Our teaching faculty bring a wealth of experience and expertise to our programs, and work hard to cultivate a collaborative professional learning community.

The following are some of the faculty who teach within our professional learning programs.